DNA banking for plant breeding,biotechnology and biodiversity evaluation

The manipulation of DNA is routine practice in botanical research and has made a huge impact on plant breeding, biotechnology and biodiversity evaluation. DNA is easy to extract from most plant tissues and can be stored for long periods in DNA banks. Curation methods are well developed for other botanical resources such as herbaria, seed banks and botanic gardens, but procedures for the establishment and maintenance of DNA banks have not been well documented. This paper reviews the curation of DNA banks for the characterisation and utilisation of biodiversity and provides guidelines for DNA bank management. It surveys existing DNA banks and outlines their operation. It includes a review of plant DNA collection, preservation, isolation, storage, database management and exchange procedures. We stress that DNA banks require full integration with existing collections such as botanic gardens, herbaria and seed banks, and information retrieval systems that link such facilities, bioinformatic resources and other DNA banks. They also require efficient and well-regulated sample exchange procedures. Only with appropriate curation will maximum utilisation of DNA collections be achieved.     

Using Neutron Spin Echo Resolved Grazing Incidence Scattering to Investigate Organic Solar Cell Materials

The spin echo resolved grazing incidence scattering (SERGIS) technique has been used to probe the length-scales associated with irregularly shaped crystallites. Neutrons are passed through two well defined regions of magnetic field; one before and one after the sample. The two magnetic field regions have opposite polarity and are tuned such that neutrons travelling through both regions, without being perturbed, will undergo the same number of precessions in opposing directions. In this case the neutron precession in the second arm is said to "echo" the first, and the original polarization of the beam is preserved. If the neutron interacts with a sample and scatters elastically the path through the second arm is not the same as the first and the original polarization is not recovered. Depolarization of the neutron beam is a highly sensitive probe at very small angles (<50 μrad) but still allows a high intensity, divergent beam to be used. The decrease in polarization of the beam reflected from the sample as compared to that from the reference sample can be directly related to structure within the sample.In comparison to scattering observed in neutron reflection measurements the SERGIS signals are often weak and are unlikely to be observed if the in-plane structures within the sample under investigation are dilute, disordered, small in size and polydisperse or the neutron scattering contrast is low. Therefore, good results will most likely be obtained using the SERGIS technique if the sample being measured consist of thin films on a flat substrate and contain scattering features that contains a high density of moderately sized features (30 nm to 5 µm) which scatter neutrons strongly or the features are arranged on a lattice. An advantage of the SERGIS technique is that it can probe structures in the plane of the sample.     

A reversible color polyphenism in American peppered moth (Biston betularia cognataria) caterpillars

Insect body color polyphenisms enhance survival by producing crypsis in diverse backgrounds. While color polyphenisms are often indirectly induced by temperature, rearing density, or diet, insects can benefit from immediate crypsis if they evolve polyphenisms directly induced by exposure to the background color, hence immediately deriving protection from predation. Here, we examine such a directly induced color polyphenism in caterpillars of the geometrid peppered moth (Biston betularia). This larval color polyphenism is unrelated to the genetic polymorphism for melanic phenotypes in adult moths. B. betularia caterpillars are generalist feeders and develop body colors that closely match the brown or green twigs of their host plant. We expand on previous studies examining the proximal cues that stimulate color development. Under controlled rearing conditions, we manipulated diets and background reflectance, using both natural and artificial twigs, and show that visual experience has a much stronger effect than does diet in promoting precise color matching. Their induced body color was not a simple response to reflectance or light intensity but instead specifically matched the wavelength of light to which they were exposed. We also show that the potential to change color is retained until the final (sixth) larval instar. Given their broad host range, this directly induced color polyphenism likely provides the caterpillars with strong protection from bird predation.     

A novel method for quantifying overdispersion in count data and its application to farmland birds

The statistical modelling of count data permeates the discipline of ecology. Such data often exhibit overdispersion compared with a standard Poisson distribution, so that the variance of the counts is greater than that of the mean. Whereas modelling to reveal the effects of explanatory variables on the mean is commonplace, overdispersion is generally regarded as a nuisance parameter to be accounted for and subsequently ignored. Instead, we propose a method that models the overdispersion as a biologically interesting property of a data set and show how novel inference is provided as a result. We adapted the double hierarchical generalized linear model approach to create an easily extendible model structure that quantifies the influence of explanatory variables on the overdispersion of count data, and apply it to farmland birds. These data were from a study within Irish agricultural ecosystems, in which total bird species abundance and the abundance of farmland indicator species were compared on dairy and non‐dairy farms in the winter and breeding seasons. In general, overdispersion in bird counts was greater on dairy farms than on non‐dairy farms, and for total bird numbers, overdispersion was greatest on dairy farms in winter. Our code is fitted using the Bayesian package Rstan, and we make all code and data available in a GitHub repository. Within a Bayesian framework, this approach facilitates a meaningful quantification of the effects of categorical explanatory variables on any response variable with a tendency to overdispersion that has a meaningful biological or ecological explanation.     

Anther diversity and function inVerticordia DC. (Myrtaceae)

Anther form and structure across the taxonomic groups inVerticordia were examined. The three anther types which were recognised — rectangular, oblong and saccate, accord well with the three subgenera into which the genus has been divided. The sporogenous part of the anther has a fairly typical angiosperm anatomy. However in many species there is a small or large gland in the upper filament/connective which contains lipidic contents. The anatomy of this structure is based on that of the oil glands which are ubiquitous in Myrtaceae primary tissues. However the gland is usually much larger than these and is schizolysigenous in origin. Evolutionary development of the anthers in the genus is related to pollination systems and the development of secondary pollen presentation from the upper style in some groups. Anther glands may have originally had a protective function for the sporogenous tissue. However in different groups the function has changed or the gland has disappeared. In some species in subgenusChrysoma (which does not have secondary pollen presentation) the gland contents seem to be an additional food source for pollinators. In other groups, with the development of secondary pollen presentation the protective function has become redundant and anther glands have either disappeared or produce contents which have become part of the process of pollen dispersal.